Guru History

The team at Guru Digital Arts College wanted to create a different kind of school. In 2002, Guru Digital Arts College began a mission to offer digital media education that walked its talk. By integrating a real world approach to learning the business, skills and attitudes of digital media production, we quickly realized it was possible to immerse our learners in a six month experience unlike any other school.

Building the foundation

Guru's first home was the basement of the Empire building, located on the corner of 101 street and Jasper avenue. It was an ideal location because of its proximity to public transit and the bustling heart of downtown Edmonton. Plus, the Starbucks located one floor above was a nice bonus.

To properly prepare new students for the digital media industry, Guru assembled a team of talented instructors who pooled their passion for learning and teaching together to achieve Guru's dream. Having instructors that are active in the digital media world has always been a huge asset, and a large contributor to Guru’s success.

From 2003 to 2007, Guru prospered in its humble basement dwelling. It was during this time that, through a series of corporate training partnerships with the University of Alberta and NAIT, Guru’s reputation began to grow.

Moving on up

In 2007, Guru moved from the Empire Building to the 2nd floor of the Swedish Jeweler’s building, just a few blocks from its previous home. This was both a literal and metaphorical upward move for Guru. The new college space featured two classrooms, which enabled Guru to support two simultaneous intakes.

In September 2008, Guru decided to push forward, switching its intake structure from two 6-month intakes a year to four. The increased number of starting dates was intended to reflect Guru’s flexible and progressive attitude by allowing more people the opportunity to have a Guru education.

Looking ahead

Exciting new opportunities to expand on the original vision of establishing a world-class learning institution are on the horizon for Guru.  Now with three programs on the roster (and an additional three in the works) you can be sure that Guru will continue to incorporate the same balance of work, play, reflection and growth that brought us this far.